Vindicate
by Colors of Summer
Summary: Bill calls upon the Great Axolotl for one last chance to redeem himself-and ends up stuck in a human body with limited magic in order to make up for the transgressions against the small town of Gravity Falls. When the past slowly begins consuming him, how long before Bill repeats past mistakes? Or will Dipper and Mabel be able to change him in time? (also on ao3)
1. Too Weird to Live, too Guilty to Die

Quick word of warning; this story involves a lot of depictions of anxiety, pain, stress, mental instability, and magic shinanigans, along with the occasional torture flashbacks. I'll write another disclaimer at the top of a chapter if it gets particularly dark, but just know this wont always be fluff and fun times.

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Bill felt like his body was being torn apart, shredded, forced back together, and molded into a new form over and over again. He had a mission to fulfil, and it had been compromised because of his need for power. A single deal gone wrong. He felt his anger take over, along with other emotions that he couldn't keep under check. The old man in front of him had ruined everything! He would pay, they would all pay!

"NRUTER YAM I TAHT REWOP TNEICNA EHT EKOVNE I. NRUB OT EMOC SAH EMIT YM LTOLOXA. STAN _LEYYY-"_ as the demon reached out to Stan in a final desperate attempt to free himself, he was met with a sudden fist that shattered his now weakened formed. Stanley Pines had successfully defeated Bill Cipher, but at the cost of his own mind.

Or had he?

When Bill regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was the familiar creature in front of him. The seven-eyed woman wore a hooded dress with a pendant around her neck, and a string of seven gems was strung off of her hip. "Jheselbraum," he scowled. "I don't recall asking for you."

The Oracle sighed, "William, there are only so many chances the Axolotl can give you before even they begin losing patience. This will be your last chance." Bill felt himself tense. "Another dimension similar to your home has already formed. It did so while you were chasing that human through the multiverse," as the Oracle spoke, she turned away to a wall covered in posters of axolotls and bubbles that peeked into unsuspecting worlds.

"No-but I thought-"

"You had your chance, Cipher," Jheselbraum turned to face Bill again, holding one of the orbs. "The Great Axolotl decided your fate long ago. Your way of repenting, if one could call it that, was only going to create more chaos. Now you are to serve those you strived to destroy, in another time, in another form."

Bill was about to protest, to find another way, but he was suddenly engulfed in flames once again. He felt as though his body was being stretched and twisted yet again. He tried to cry out from the pain, but he felt as though he didn't have that ability anymore. One by one, he felt his body break down again into nothing before his consciousness fell into darkness.

When Bill's awareness came back to him, everything was dark. He felt as though his body had been forced through a black hole; slowly being stretched and twisted until it made its way through a space the size of a needle head, now left cold and numb in the vast emptiness. He tried to concentrate, but he was left with a fog over his mind. For someone who always had information being forced in and out of his mind faster than most other beings would be able to process any of it and stay sane, not that he himself was exactly 'sane', everything was...quiet.

Then there was a sharp pain.

It came from much lower than Bill was used to, and spread across an area that definitely wasn't the shape of a triangle body. After a few moments, the pain died back down to the numbing feeling that seemed to map out a familiar shape. Bill let out a quiet groan of realization. He was in a meatsack; he didn't know how nor cared why, but that was the simple truth. He almost growled in annoyance, but where the noise rumbled through felt dry and sticky, and the noise caught uncomfortably in his throat.

A strange noise filled Bill's conscious, and after a few moments he recognized it as someone mumbling. Then another voice joined in. A muffled conversation was taking place somewhere near by. Willing his eyes to open, he felt one eye slowly crack open and almost immediately regretted it. A bright white filled his mind and he tried to turn away, only to cause a few different strange feelings to take over. One of them made him feel like he was spinning in circles a little too fast. Another made him feel like the area around him was beating loudly, threatening to crush him from the pain. Yet another felt like he was weightless and floating, but that was somehow still extremely uncomfortable.

Just as he was getting used to these feelings all swarming his mind at once, Bill felt a strange warmth surround him, and those past feelings hit him again tenfold. He felt himself losing consciousness once again, a loud ringing drowning out the mumbles that had picked up once again and pain quickly replacing the numbness once more.

 _"Don't you think there's a reason we live in this type of place?"_

 _Bill watched as his teacher organized a few book up on a bookshelf. The two were alone in the Council's Grand Library; a place Bill normally wouldn't be allowed access, but his teacher was the librarian. Bill sighed._

 _"Then why even bother_ looking _at other worlds? Other_ universes? _Our home is_ dying, _you know this-you're in charge of-"_

"William," _Bill tensed at his teacher's stern voice. "We're looking for a way to fix this, trust me. But we can't just go in to the next available dimension and live there instead."_

 _"And why not?" Bill asked. His teacher seemed to ponder this question over before sitting across from his student, both floating casually between rows of research gathered from other worlds._

 _"Bill, I will tell you something that only I and a few circles know. Understand that I am only saying this to keep you from trying anything on your own." Bill nodded eagerly, too excited to hear more information about these classified findings to notice the tired expression coming from his teacher. "We've found that the dimensions directly surrounding ours have collapsed."_

 _"Wh-what…?" Bill's face fell in confusion._

 _A sigh came from his teacher as he leaned back to look at the ceiling._

 _"Essentially, we're trapped in this corrupted place."_

Again, there was darkness. And warmth. And pain. Lots of pain.

Bill risked opening his eyes again, though this time he was met with a much nicer view. His eyes blinked one at a time as he tried to adjust his sight. The lighting was a deep red now, and as his eyes began focusing, he realized he was staring up at rows of wooden boards. Bill stayed like that for a while, slowly getting used to the feeling of being in a body once again.

Now his curiosity was slowly getting the better of him. He moved his arms to push himself up, only that failed when his shoulders felt tight and locked up. Next attempt had him trying to roll onto his stomach, only managing to twist his body awkwardly to the side. With a huff, he forced his shaking arms to remove his upper body from whatever he found himself lying on. As he slowly moved into a sitting position, he realized his body had been constricted in a large piece of cloth. That was obviously to reason for his issues with getting up.

Bill glanced around the room, the area feeling very familiar. At the foot of his bed, there was a large stained glass window, though the markings had changed since the last time Bill had seen it. There was a door off to his left, and a small dark hallway further down on the wall opposite to the window.

Still feeling foggy, Bill forced himself off of the bed that was set in the room, nearly tripping over his flimsy legs almost giving out immediately. He made it a few steps before giving up and dropping to his knees. His world was spinning again. This had to be a joke. There was no way he could even be here. There was a spell to keep him out.

Creaking floorboards got his attention, and he looked up to see a very familiar face watching him as the person ascended the stairs. Bill felt his face contort in disgust, anger, and hate; stretching painfully as the expression was a bit much for the skin. He tried to bring up his fire instinctively, only for it to, of course, sputter out immediately. The person slowly made their way towards the former demon, hand slowly outstretched as if to try to calm a wild animal. Before they were close enough to lunge if they wanted, Bill had forced himself back up onto his feet and headed for the only other exit he could get to.

Ignoring the words being shouted at him, Bill threw his new body out the window.


	2. Welcome Back to Gravity Falls

Dipper sighed as he watched the sea of pine trees pass by on the other side of the window. Mabel was passed out on his shoulder, as usual during their long bus rides back to the quiet town of Gravity Falls. This was their last summer before college, and their grunkles decided to come back this year from their great adventures to help throw their graduation party. The long ride was less to be desired, but since they needed to save for college and all, the twins figured just one more trip and back on a bus would be fine.

When the town sign flashed by, Dipper nudged his sister awake. He was greeted with a muffled 'hrmph,' and decided to poke and prod Mabel's face until she finally gave up on sleeping. She stretched across the seat, sliding down behind Dipper and forcing him to scoot forward slightly unless he wanted the uncomfortable feeling of his twin forcing her way between him and the seat. The girl stretched her legs out the aisle and onto the other seat, which was vacant (like most of the bus) before suddenly bouncing up into a normal sitting position and looking wide awake.

She continued to grin and bounce all the way to their stop, much to her brother's annoyance.

Once the twins had made it to the Mystery Shack, they were greeted by the Man of Mystery himself-better known to them as Soos. He helped the teens bring their luggage inside, telling them all about the new attractions and ideas he had come up with over the past year. The pair had made it a priority to come back to the Falls each summer, save for the first summer after their town went through a very localize apocalypse. The kids had been absolutely terrified to return without knowing for sure if their Great Uncles would be back from their trip, so they chose to wait and make sure they made plans for the next summer once they got in contact with the two older twins.

The first summer back was definitely their most 'normal' as their Uncle Stan insisted that the tweens needed to stay away from the supernatural in order to feel safe again. Ford argued, but eventually gave in as the haunted look in his grand-niblings eyes was a grim reminder that they were still kids-and nearly dying at twelve-almost-thirteen was not something even he had been through. By the time Summerween passed, Dipper was back to exploring at Ford's side, with Mabel tagging along in order to make sure her brother was safe. She gave in to the temptation of hanging out with her summer pals soon enough, however. Every year since, Dipper and Mabel had been fine with coming on their own.

Soos had added a door and cleared out the storage space that was just down the hall of the room the twins had originally stayed in. The two teens each took to a room; Mabel the new room, since it had a few of Dippers 'accidental' experiments stuck inside. Dipper was fine with the decision, since it meant he didn't have to try to remove and then fix the spot where the giant chess pawn was stuck in the corner.

Once Dipper was satisfied with his unpacking, he fixed the trucker hat on his head and looked in the mirror on the wall. He and Wendy traded back the first year he returned, Wendy complaining that a trucker hat was pretty much useless once the weather hit the lower 50's. He wasn't one to complain about the trade back, as the hat he had acquired was much too warm for his tastes anyways. They occasionally swapped for a few days in the summer for fun.

Hearing a door open and footsteps cross the hall outside his door, Dipper hurried to meet Mabel before she went downstairs. His twin shot him a toothy grin, braces fresh off-just in time for prom pictures- before they raced down the stairs when they heard the front door close and muffled old-man grunts and chats. The siblings managed to get to the last flight before Mabel tripped Dipper, causing a very unmanly yelp to come from her brother as he managed to grab his sister on the way down, who in turn shrieked as they tumbled into a mess of tangled limbs at the bottom. They looked up to see two very surprised and old faces looking down at them before the teens burst into a fit of giggles.

Once the two were untangled and back on their feet, the two sets of twins quickly babbled and got caught up with their past year of adventures. Soos joined in, and the group of five made it to the living room to chat more comfortably. Melody and Soos' _Abuelita_ soon joined as well once they brought out lunch, and the group talked for a good few hours before Ford pulled Dipper to the side for a private chat.

"Listen, Dipper," Ford began with a serious tone. "I know this summer is a really important one, but I need your help with something."

"It won't get in the way of our grad party, will it? Great Uncle Ford, you know how Mabel gets with her parties. If I'm not there-"

"Yes, yes, I know," Ford cut in. Dipper frowned. "I don't plan for this to take longer than a night, I promise. Stanley brought up something that I never even thought about." He paused for a moment, and when Dipper only gave him a curious look, he continued. "What if… What if Bill is still out there?"

Dipper's eyes went wide and he nearly choked on his own saliva. What ever he was preparing for, it definitely wasn't that. "Wha-"

"The memory gun." Ford stated simply, effectively shutting Dipper up again. "Stanly did something no one should be able to do. He recovered his memories on his own."

"Well, it was Mabel's scrapbook," Dipper reminded him.

"Yes, well… I mean, F-Fiddleford designed the gun in a way where someone would need to see their memories in order for them to be recovered. Stan only needed to be reminded by pictures."

"Isn't that basically the same thing?"

"Hmmm… Not quite. If he were to only remember this summer-then yes. He recovered all of his memory though. Including-"

"Bill." This time it was Dipper's turn to cut Ford off. The old man just nodded in response. Dipper took a deep breath and leaned on the wall for support. His legs felt numb, and he felt like they would float away from his body at any moment. Bill Cipher. The demon that haunted so many nightmares, that cause his family and friends so much suffering… "How can you be sure?"

Ford blinked when Dipper suddenly spoke up. The boy had looked like he had shut down momentarily, and he had begun to worry that he would need to get Mabel or Stan. "Well, there is one way. We need to summon-"

"NO!" Dipper looked surprised by his own sudden outburst, but was quick to recover. Out of the corner of his eye, Ford saw Mabel abandon her party planning in favor of coming to her twins aid. "Are you-you can't actually be serious, Ford!" Dipper tugged his hat off and ran his fingers through the mess of bouncy brown curls. His brown eyes were wide with fear that reminded Ford of the children's first summer back. "What if he is still alive? What could he do to us?!"

"Calm down, Dipper, and hear me out. He can't do anything without making a deal first."

"What are you nerds planning without me this time?" Mabel's voice was just as bubbly as ever, though the hint of concern was evident in her eyes as she came to her brothers side. She placed her hand on her brother's back, rubbing in small circles in an attempt to calm him down. She looked over at Ford once Dipper began relaxing under her touch. Her voice perfectly masked the warning look she was giving her great uncle. "Did I hear something about an overrated nacho?"

Ford sighed. "I'll be fine. I'll set up charms and-"

"Oh-ho, no. You are NOT doing this alone!" Dipper shot Ford a similar look that Mabel had, though the old man refused to back down under their gazes.

"And don't think you two are going off on some adventure without me!" Mabel chimed in. She spoke up before either could cut her off. "If you two are doing something dangerous, I am NOT letting my little bro out of my sight."

"It was five measly minutes, and I'm literally, like, six inches taller than you now." Dipper groaned.

Mabel just grinned, as if that proved her point, before pumping her fist in the air. "Mystery Twins, back at it again! There ain't nothin' we can't solve!"

Ford couldn't help but smile. Mabel's bubbly spirit had slowly brought life back into Dipper's eyes, and Ford was secretly glad she decided to come along. The more the merrier, right?

The sun was setting past the mountains now. Ford, Dipper, and Mabel were standing in the forest around a summoning circle Ford had drawn out with paint in the grass. Ford had just lit the last candle, and he looked at his two grand-niblings.

"Ready?" Even though they were more there to make sure one didn't make a stupid deal with the devil, Ford wanted to make sure they were ready for whatever they would end up facing.

"Yes," they answered in unison, though everyone knew it was a lie. No one was prepared if Bill really did make his way back to their world.

Ford took a deep breath and began reciting the incantation to summon Bill. Soon after he finished, everything went deathly silent. It seemed as though the whole forest quieted down to see what would happen.

Seconds passed, and still nothing.

Ford grunted, clapped his hands together, and was about to admit defeat, when a white light blinded the three of them. Mabel and Dipper instinctively grabbed each other's arm and held on for dear life, while Ford took a few steps back and covered his eyes. Just as soon as it appeared, the light faded, and the forest seemed to buzz with life again.

Ford blinked the spots away from his vision and fixed his glasses. "Kids? Everyone still here…?"

"Y-yeah," Dipper responded, letting out a shaky breath. Mabel gasped.

"Grunkle Ford! You summoned a boy!"

Stanford blinked and looked down at the circle where Mabel was pointing, and sure enough, a blond kid was lying in the middle of the circle. He was only wearing a white gown, and from what was visible, the kid sure had a lot of tattoos. Ford bent down and checked his pulse. Glancing down the kid's arm, Ford noticed that the markings were a mix of alchemy and different languages; some he recognized, and some that were still foreign to him. Ford moved to check over the boy's other vitals when he noticed the boy's eyelids twitching, as if they were trying to open.

"Hey, Grunkle Ford," Dipper suddenly spoke up. "Uh...What exactly are we going to do with him?"

"Well, we should probably take him back to the Shack." Ford took out a notepad from his jacket pocket, writing down the symbols he recognized.

"What?! But those markings-and he was SUMMONED here-what if Bill is possessing him or something? What if it's a trap?!"

"I have to agree with Dipdop here, Grunkle Ford," said Mabel. "I mean, everything about this is just... Weird."

Ford looked over his shoulder at the younger twins, and raised an eyebrow. "You two would rather leave this child all alone in the woods than try to find answers?" The teens exchanged glances but kept silent as Ford returned his attention to the stranger. He noticed that the boy had managed to partially open his eyes now, but they were dull and glossed over. His eyes were a deep caramel color, but his pupils looked normal enough His eyelids looked to be fighting to stay open, so Ford decided it would be faster just to pick the child up and carry him back than wait for him to wake up. He glanced back to the twins one last time. "Well? You two planning to camp your first night back?"

The next night, the twins were watching a movie they had brought with their Grunkle Stan in the living room. Ford walked right as a man in a red suit fell off the side of a bridge and into a garbage truck that was driving under the bridge at just the right time. The silver-armored man left at the top of the bridge lifted a set of handcuffs to reveal the man had cut off his own hand to get free-leaving a profound gesture.

"HAHAHA, I like this guy!" Well, Stan was certainly into this odd movie. Ford cleared his throat, and Dipper paused the movie while Mabel babbled to her grunkle about the character more.

"Any sign of our guest yet?" Ford asked. Dipper shook his head. Ford sighed and scratched the back of his head.

Everyone got quiet when a loud thud echoed down the staircase.

Dipper started to get up, but Ford motioned him to sit back down. Something about the marks felt...off to him. Most of them seemed like some sort of seal, while others looked like protection spells. He slowly made his way up the stairs to the top floor, where the boy was being kept on one of the kids' old beds.

When Ford got to a high enough step to see the boy sitting on his knees on the floor, he offered the best smile he could. The boy stared at him, his features quickly shifting from shock to a variety of negative emotions, each looking a bit too vivid for such a young boy. He only looked to be about as old as Dipper and Mabel had been when he had first met them. When he reached the last step, the boy got to his feet at an alarming rate, and before Ford could do much more than yell "stop!", the boy had ran for the stained glass window and jumped at it, breaking it and falling the tree stories down to the bottom with a loud 'thud'.


	3. Bittersweet Memories

WARNING: the big chunk in italics gets dark. A man gets boiled alive in the streets. Flashback, of course, but still.

* * *

When Bill opened his eyes, his vision was red. He blinked a few times and rubbed a gooey liquid out of his eyes. The next thing he noticed was all the yelling that was making his skull ache. He groaned and forced his body to stand, and found that once again, that caused a wave of nausea and pain to wash over him. His right shoulder definitely felt off now, and a dull pain was growing in the middle of his back. Bill let out a breath through gritted teeth, a hissing sound escaping his lips as he forced himself to move. He refused to be held down, especially by the Pines, of all creatures.

Forcing his body forward, he let his mind spin as he hurried to the forest. He barely registered the thin cloth that clung to his form as he ran, instead focusing on the cover of the trees and just trying to keep himself in a fairly upright position. Pushing branches out of his way, nearly tripping over exposed roots, and nearly running into a few trees caused him to quickly lose his bearings. He continued on, only stopping when he couldn't breathe anymore. His throat felt like he had swallowed nails with gasoline. His head felt ready to crack under his right eye. His shoulder felt like something was trying to tear it off by pulling it back slowly. His back felt like a spider web was forming under his skin, each thread growing more painful the more he moved. His legs were trembling and beginning to go numb-he couldn't feel some of his toes on his left foot anymore. _This is way worse than when I possessed Pine Tree,_ he thought bitterly.

His hands found a nearby tree, and he gently rested his forehead against the birch. He closed his eyes and tried to relax. Sure, he enjoyed pain just as much as the next celestial overlord, but this much sensory overload was becoming too much for the limited space in his brain. If he wanted to survive without worrying about damaging his human brain, or worse, his brain melting down to mush, he had to be careful about how much he had stored in his brain at a time.

Taking a deep breath, he let his mind relax and open into the mindscape. Almost immediately, flashed of images crossed his mind, data and information passing in and out so fast, he could barely keep up with what he needed at the moment and was currently useless. He worked on sorting through what was already stored in his mind as well, throwing out stupid information like how many leaves were on the trees in a mile radius and how many ants were walking over his toes and where their nest was and how many female workers she was currently giving birth to and how fast he was breathing. Stupid, useless things.

A gentle breeze passed through the forest. Bill found that his mind was finally beginning to slow down, or he was finally able to keep up with it, and the two fell in sync over a distant memory.

 _The center of the town was lit up brightly. Torch flames chased the darkness to the edges of the village. A crowd had gathered to watch as the invading soldiers took the khazn they had grown to love and tied him to a stake. The khazn belonged to the town as much as the soldiers did-no, even less so. He had arrived years ago with his pregnant wife and daughter, spewing things that the Church was very much against. However, he had grown on the townsfolk; he respected their traditions, offered teachings only to those willing to listen, never forcing his ideals or judging the town for the differences in their religion. Yes, the khazn had grown on the townsfolk, but no one dared to go up against the army._

 _Instead, they all watched quietly as they stripped the man, bound him to a stake in the center of the town for all to see. The humiliation wasn't the worst part, not at all. They had begun boiling water in a large cauldron in front of the man over an open flame. It had taken a while, as the streets were naturally frigid at this time of year. Once the water was at a steady boil, two soldiers worked together to lift the cauldron and dumped the water over the man._

 _His screams echoed through the town, and yet no one stepped forward to stop the soldiers. His skin blistered quickly and began to boil up in painful lumps, his skin mimicking the state of the water just moments before. The ground at the base of the man's feet turned to mud, though it quickly froze over. The man's cries began anew when the winds picked up. The hot water quickly froze, the ice forcing a few of the boils to burst open with blood and puss now mixing as the man was painted by his own body. The once pale skin had been turned a screaming red, going from soft to tight and lumpy, and finally turning various shades of blacks, blues, and purples. Bill found it lovely-the human body could be so fascinating. Without excess hair or magical properties for protection, the skin alone could take on so many different colors and textures in a matter of moments._

 _The man was only the first of many, as the townsfolk were quick to give up the others who had been turned Jew because of this man's knowledge. At the end of the day, the victims were left in the center of the town, faces frozen in a lovely display of twisted torment one could only achieve as living, frozen statues._

 _However, one thing was obviously lacking in the scene of horror. Where were those dear children?_

 _Bill's attention was brought to a small group of children hiding under the cover of the thicket just outside of the town. The oldest, a girl known as 'Anastasia', was trying to calm the group of children that had been left in her care. She held her youngest sibling in one arm-the toddler was wrapped in a blanket and holding a doll made from a blanket, socks rolled in a ball and a string to hold the socks securely inside to blanket. Hidden within the socks was the bit of money the children had managed to grab before the soldiers had kicked down their door, dragging their father out to the town square. The girl had hid in the walls of the home before managing to escape to the back, gathering the other children of the Jewish families. Anastasia's father had been first to fall victim, and Bill knew those screams would haunt her beautiful nightmares for the rest of her small life, or whatever was left of it._

 _When the girl was sure the soldiers were distracted, she led the group of eight children with her to the forest. They moved quietly, for there were various traps left in the woods to catch animals. The snow had begun to fall not too long ago, but it was quickly becoming heavy and soon the forest was a blanket of white. Anastasia froze when she heard the men shouting orders and dogs howl in the distance. The cry of one of the babies pulled her attention away, and soon she was ushering the children deep into unknown forest, the thick cover of trees and snowfall barely helping to hide the children as it left their scent everywhere._

 _Soon, the group of children hid underneath a rotting log, huddling close in an attempt to keep warm and small. It took Anastasia a few moments to calm down, adrenalin leaving her body aching and cold. The ringing in her ears was slowly replaced with the cries of babies and the sniffles of the slightly older children. As her eyes adjusted, Anastasia noticed the cries were coming from her group of children, as well as from herself. She pulled the group closer still, humming a lullaby to the children. They had to quiet down, or they would be caught. The sounds of dogs barking grew near yet, and soon Anastasia's nose was filled with an unpleasant smell. She made a face, and dared to whisper, "what is that smell?"_

 _"Kaka, Tima needs to be changed," one of the children said in a louder-than-prefered whisper, which was ended quickly with a hiccup and sniffle. The accused toddler was about to protest, but the first child shushed him loudly. Anastasia mentally groaned. They were done for sure._

 _A loud snarl caused all of the children to tense up immediately. Anastasia quickly began to pray. Her God was one who could perform miracles, who saved and loved his children. She asked for forgiveness, as all children do first when faced with possible death. Bill always found this amusing. They believed that if they were good, or asked for forgiveness before death, that they would be spared from the wrath of their God. The next few things she prayed for made Bill more and more curious, however. She asked that if their God deemed it time for them to leave this world, He would make it as quick and painless for the children. Her final request was that He would not judge the soldiers too harshly, but instead send people to them to guide them down a better life._

 _Bill almost laughed at that. One look in these men's mind showed that they had no such sense of mercy, and the horrible plans they had for these kids was such a stark contrast to the children's innocence that Bill wondered for a moment if the two were of the same species. He watched and waited quietly, not that it would matter on his end. He was still stuck in the Mindscape; an observer, an audience, to these children's obvious demise. The dogs grew closer, circling around the log and sniffing at the footprints that were already hidden under fresh snow. Closer, and closer…_

 _And they were gone._

 _The dogs suddenly bolted off at the sound of a twig snap echoing in the far distance, and the men ran after them, shouting and loading their guns as they gave chase to the unknown creature in the wood. Bill found himself more amused at this turn of events. These children were so sure they were going to die, had accepted death and waited for it's sweet embrace, only to be so harshly denied it in the end. What would be worse, dying under the hope of a paradise waiting for them, or living without a family, without a penny to their name? As Bill turned his attention back to the group of children, Anastasia stared back at him, eyes wide with childish wonder and hope once again._

 _"-eathe,_ that's it, just breathe…"

When the vision finally passed, Bill realized he was on his knees, arms limp at his sides, and his face was pressed against something soft. Bill's other senses were slowly returning, and the wave of pain washing over him only seemed to be getting worse. He groaned softly, more or less because the sound got stuck in his throat in an uncomfortable bubble. His mouth was dry and his tongue felt like it had permanently molded into the shape of his mouth. He breathed in slowly, and suddenly realized just how much his body seemed to be craving the chemicals he forced inside of him.

Right. He may have thrown out an important function while clearing his mind.

Bill winced when there was pressure on a sore spot on his back, his body spasming involuntarily in an attempt to get away. The pressure disappeared, but the pain only grew. He hissed, and this time he was thrown into another spasm where air was being forced out of his lunges in a very uncomfortable way. His bones seemed to rattle, and his lungs felt like they would shrivel up.

Pressure returned, though this time on his good shoulder, thankfully, and he felt something being pressed to his lips. Bill hesitated to accept what was being given to him, especially with a memory of how cruel humans could be to each other over something as small as what they believed would want to sit around and keep watch over them, but the sweet taste that entered his mouth proved to be too great of a temptation. Luckily, he wasn't stupid enough, or maybe desperate enough, to try to down the drink in one go and send his body into another round of coughing fits. Instead, he drank slowly, savoring the flavor and letting it wash away the taste of dust and dirt from his mouth.

He heard a soft chuckle once he had finished the drink, and glanced over to the person who had helped him out. The first thing that caught Bill's eyes was the familiar blue and white pine tree trucker hat, though it had probably seen better days. The creature under the hat, however, was far less familiar, and had definitely seen better days.

"You gave everyone quite the scare back there," the teen said with a grin. "Then again, I think anyone would freak out waking up in an unfamiliar place."

Bill stared at the hand that was soon extended to him with as much hate as he could muster, as if he could will the hand to blow up, melt away, something to get it away from him. But of course, nothing happened.

"Name's Dipper Pines, and you are?"


	4. Make a Move

"Name's Dipper Pines, and you are?"

Bill just stared at the person in front of him. This was not the Pine Tree he knew. Bill furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, completely unaware of the awkwardness the teen was radiating as his outstretched hand was left hanging. Sure, humans aged, he thought, but this fast? How long had he been out?

"What, do you not have a name, or something…?" Bill blinked out of his trance and noticed Dipper staring back at him oddly. He thought back to the question before letting out a low chuckle.

"'Course I do, kid," Bill ignored the raised eyebrow Dipper gave him, too surprised with how flat his own voice seemed. He shot Dipper a wide grin as he continued. "The name's Bill Cipher, ever heard of me?"

Dipper visibly shut down at that comment. His face paled almost immediately as his brain churned up unwanted memories. He tried to figure that this kid couldn't possibly be the demon that had nearly destroyed the world, but the dark grin was sending a familiar chill down his spine. He swallowed thickly and rubbed the back of his neck, laughing awkwardly as he tried to play off the feeling. "R-right. How are you…?"

"Not dead?" Bill finished, almost cheerfully. Dipper nodded, though he still wasn't sure if this really was the demon, and not some overly obsessed, mentally unstable kid. "Well," the so-called-Bill started, "I've still got dues to pay, and the multi-verse doesn't seem to be too keen on letting me off the hook so easily," the blonde mused, his words tainted with malice. Dipper shuddered.

"Dipper!" Both boys looked over to see Stanford walking towards them, pushing branches out of his way. Dipper was on his feet instantly.

"Great uncle Ford-" Ford raised a hand, causing Dipper to quickly shut his mouth. Stanford looked past him, and Dipper followed his gaze to the kid who sported a pretty nasty look directed to the elder man. Dipper didn't fail to notice the smug look on his great uncle's face, either.

"That's quite a form you've taken on, Cipher." Ford said. "I've spoken with Jheselbraum, and she's filled me in on your...situation."

"Oh, yes, she's gained yet another mindless follower out of my enemy," Bill huffed and crossed his arms. "Let me guess, she promised something grand to you in return? How does one get convinced to not kill their enemy on sight?"

"The details don't matter. Besides, you're not much of a threat now, anyways," Ford chuckled, and Bill's glare only darkened.

"What do you mean, great uncle Ford?" Dipper asked. Ford spun around to face his nephew and grinned.

"You see, my boy, he's basically human! All of his magic has been locked away. My friend-" Bill scoffed, "sealed them away. She's going to be keeping an eye on Bill as well. She's hoping living as a human will help him to mellow out some."

"So… You're really going to let him stay after what happened…?" Dipper fidgeted a bit. Weirdmageddon was one thing he definitely did not want to go through again. Not to mention all the other things Bill had done over that one summer.

"Not without precautions, of course. We have surveillance cameras in the shack already, it wouldn't hurt to add a few more. He can't possess anyone, and he's the one with the biggest disadvantage. I've already arranged for Soos and his family to move out for the time being, just to be on the safe side," Ford finished and crossed his arms, looking proud. Bill, on the other hand, just looked more ticked off.

"You don't really expect me to put up with your family again, do you?" Bill scowled. Before Ford could respond, Bill was up and running again, this time heading deeper into the forest.

"Wait!" Dipper was about to follow, but Ford held him back. "Great uncle Ford, it's getting dark!"

"He'll be fine, Dipper. He knows these woods better than anyone," Ford replied. Dipper frowned and out from his grasp.

"Great uncle Ford, we're talking about someone who has no regard for human safety. He just jumped out of a window!" Dipper watched his uncle mull the idea over for a few moments before he finally caved.

"Alright, fine," Ford sighed. "But we shouldn't stay out long either. The last thing we need is to be chased by something with an attitude."

Bill sat quietly in the small space in between tree roots and brush he had managed to wiggle his way into. He had seen dozens of other creatures-and humans-hide in similar spaces. He listened quietly as the forest creatures slowly began to wake up, but kept his ears strained for human foot steps. He held his breath whenever he heard the sound of creatures scurrying past his hiding spot, only to release it when they were far enough away, or his chest began to ache. He resisted the urge to cough in fear of being found out.

Once the forest seemed to forget-or ignore- about him, Bill slowly readjusted himself into a more comfortable position. He relaxed back, wincing when a root dug into his lower back uncomfortably. After a few minutes of fidgeting, rustling leaves caught Bill's attention, causing him to go ridged. He could just barely make out Dipper's and Ford's voices in the distance as the rest of the forest went quiet with their arrival. Another few minutes passed before the forest creatures began chattering again, and Bill sighed quietly.

Once he was sure the two humans were gone for good, the boy made his way out of his hiding spot. Bill knew that staying in one spot was the worst decision in these woods; especially if the Pines had any allies here. After dusting off himself off, Bill slowly made his way deeper into the woods.

Bill looked up to the sky and quietly counted the stars that had began to appear. It was a good hour after sunset. Most of the night creatures would be out by now, and if the Pines were smart, they would've gone back to the safety of the Shack. Bill smiled to himself. He was the ruler of these woods; nothing was going to scare him away from his home.

The sound of rustling leaves caught Bill's attention, and the boy spun around and quickly took a defensive stance. He quickly averted his eyes; the creature in front of him was one he had watched ever since it first arrived in Gravity Falls. It had the power to show someone their worst nightmare. Bill took the chance to see if the creature had transformed into its attack form and let out a quiet sigh when he didn't notice any wings or quills.

The creature noticed that it was being stared at and turned to face Bill. The boy thought for a moment before standing up straight and puffing up his chest, wincing slightly when he felt his back pop uncomfortably from the way he had been hiding earlier. The creature seemed to notice Bill's attempt to look bigger and more menacing, and reacted by towering over the boy. Bill stood his ground, and took in a deep breath.

"I AM THE DEMON THAT RULES THIS FOREST, STAND D-" Bill hit the tree before he even registered the ground leaving his feet.

"I don't know, Mabel. Great uncle Ford says he'll be fine, but…"

Mabel watched her brother as he paced around in the kitchen. Their grunkles were in the living room, bickering about some tv show. Mabel went back to stirring the hot chocolate she was making on the stove. "C'mon, bro-bro. Grunkle Ford's got a point. Bill _is_ a demon. He know's how to handle himself."

"But that's just the thing!" Dipper threw his arms in the air before sitting at the table. "He's got the body of a little kid. We both know what happened the last time he was a twelve-year-old, and now he's in the middle of the woods. At night."

"Why are you so worried? A little while ago, you didn't want to ever see him again," Mabel set down a mug of cocoa next to Dipper before taking a seat next to him.

"I...I don't know. After hearing what that Jessabel-whoever lady said about him, I'm just worried. Ford accepted the offer from some celestial creature to take care of a demon child. What if something happens, and we end up dealing with something worse than Weirdmageddon?!" Mabel sighed and stirred her cocoa while she thought how to respond. Both twins looked up when the doorbell rang.

"DIPPER! Get the door!" Stan yelled. Dipper groaned and slid out of his chair before walking to the door. He opened the door and blinked when he saw Bill standing on the porch.

"Hiya, Pine Tree!" Bill grinned. He was covered in dirt, leaves, and what looked like blood. The gown he was wearing was torn worse than it had been the last time Dipper had seen Bill. "Mind if I stay for a bit? I don't think this vessel will last much longer out there."

"Jeez, Bill. What did you do?" Dipper quickly pulled the blond inside and led him to the bathroom.

"Who was at the door?" Mabel poked her head out of the kitchen and blinked when she saw Dipper and Bill walk past.

"I fought a Gremloblin! Well, more like it turned me into a ragdoll," Bill said in a cheery tone. He did his best to keep up with Dipper, but he missed a few steps on the way to the bathroom and had to use the wall for support. Dipper sat him on the toilet and winced when he saw how beat up the boy looked under proper lighting.

"You fought-ugh, why am I not surprised," Dipper sighed and dug around for the first aid kit under the sink. "Mabel! Can you find some more bandaids? I don't think we have enough."

"Sure thing, bro-bro," Mabel called as she ran upstairs.

Dipper turned back to Bill and sighed. The boy looked up at him with a wide grin and kicked his feet. If it weren't for the fact that most of his skin was discolored, Dipper would think someone invited him to Disneyworld. "You know, that body isn't all that strong," Dipper said as he started cutting away the cloth from Bill's upper body.

"I know! I didn't think he'd get so mad," Bill laughed. Dipper rolled his eyes and got a rag to clean away the dirt and blood. Bill winced when he had to turn for Dipper to get to his back, and hissed whenever Dipper went over a spot that was too sensitive.

"I don't think your back should be this swelled up," Dipper said. Bill just shrugged and bit his bottom lip to keep from crying out when Dipper began disinfecting the cuts. Mabel came in with a small box and grinned.

"I brought my brightest set of bandaids I could find! Cute colors always help me feel better. So do the glittery ones, but those got banned from the shack," Mabel took her brothers spot and began covering the various cuts with bandages. Once she was satisfied, she stood and clapped her hands together. "We should get you into a nice sweater, now that Dipdot cut up your grown."

"I'll get an ice pack for his back and those bruises. Maybe we should take him to the hospital," Dipper continued muttering to himself as he left the bathroom. Mabel grinned and dragged Bill upstairs to go through her pile of sweaters.

"I'll let you borrow one for now. Tomorrow we can go get you some more clothes, and I can get some colors for your very own sweater!"

"Thanks, Shooting Star!" Bill grinned and began digging through the pile of sweaters. "What about this one?" He held up a white sweater with a purple five-pointed star in the middle after a few minutes of debating.

"Are you sure? White's pretty easy to get dirty," Mabel said.

Bill just grinned before working on getting changed. The sweater was practically a dress on him. He grinned triumphantly and waved the sleeves around. "Look! I've got Pine Tree's noodle arms now!" Mabel giggled.

"Well, it works for now," Dipper grumbled as he came into the room. He tossed a pair or shorts he managed to sneak from the gift shop to Bill, which hit the kid in the face. Dipper tried to hold back his laugh. "Put those on. After that, I'll try getting that swelling to go down. I talked to Ford, and he thinks we'll have to bring you in."

"Well, I _did_ jump out your window," Bill stated as he worked the shorts on. At least he had help when dressing up in Mabel's play. Now he had a basic idea of how clothes worked. Once satisfied, he turned to Dipper and waved his sleeves around again. Dipper rolled his eyes.

"Okay, sit here and turn around. You have to leave this on for about fifteen minutes." Bill huffed and did as he was told, gathering most of the sweater in his lap once he sat down.

"You're no fun Pine-OW!" Bill quickly pulled away from the icepack, tripping over his sweater in the process. The twins glanced at each other.

"What's wrong?" Dipper asked.

"It's _COLD!_ Why would you humans use that as a means of healing? How does that make any sense?!" Bill waved his sleeves around in an attempt to make a point, but Mabel couldn't help but giggle.

"Well, guess the ice pack is a no," she said. Dipper sighed.  
"To the hospital we go, I guess," Dipper replied.

* * *

Check out colors-of-summer-doodles on tumblr for some fanart of this chapter!


	5. Long Night with Chaos

"Oof!" Dipper's head hit the ceiling of the car when they went over a bump in what he hoped was the road. "Grunkle Stan, are you sure you should be driving? You know-"

"Quiet, boy. The day I stop driving is the day I die," Stan replied before squinting at the road. It wasn't long before Stan and Ford started bickering over Stan's driving skills and the quickest way to the hospital in the next town over.

Dipper sighed and leaned back in his seat. Mabel was sitting behind Ford, with Bill in the middle of the younger twins. The smaller boy seemed equally amused and terrified by the speed they were going. Flashing lights in the mirror soon caught everyone's attention, and everyone except Stan turned back to see the familiar police car trying to catch up.

"Not today, coppers!" Stan shouted before the car lurched forward, causing everyone else to hit their seats.

"Stanley! What in the world do you think you're doing?!" Ford barked and fumbled for something to hold onto.

"HAHA! Sissy!" Stan laughed and continued to speed through the town. Dipper groaned.

"Faster! Go faster!" Dipper blinked and looked over at Bill, who was grinning wide despite desperately clinging to Mabel. Dipper also noticed that the freckles that had been almost too faint to notice before were practically glowing yellow. Mabel held onto him as if her life depended on it, but she had a mischievous glint in her eyes.

Bill suddenly pushed away from Mabel and bumped into Dipper, causing both of the teens to look at him in confusion. Bill suddenly looked panicked and pressed back against his seat.

"Wait, wait! Slow down!" he shouted. Stan laughed.

"No way am I getting caught today, kid! Especially if it means listening to some demon child!"

Ford looked to the back seat in confusion before glancing out his window in time to see the Goodbye, Gravity Falls! sign pass them. "Wait, Stan, turn around!"

"Ugh, not you, too, Ford!" Stan complained.

"Listen Stan, unless you want to have to redo the upholstery, I think it might be best if we stay in Gravity Falls!"

Stan quirked an eyebrow to his brother before glancing back to Bill. The blond had raised his arms up over his face as if to brace something. Stan was about to ask what the issue was, but stopped when Bill's skin lit up with dozens of seals and inscriptions as they passed through the town's barrier. Everything was silent for a moment, save for the sirens in the distance. Bill shuddered as the glowing symbols slowly faded while the Pines family shared glances with each other.

Bill wandered around the lobby with Dipper and Mabel while the older twins took care of checking the boy in. Stan eventually got caught when he had to make a sharp turn to avoid hitting guard rails, but once Sheriff Blubs saw the twins in the back seat and the state of the boy with them(along with some extra talk from Ford), they were let off with a warning and got a police escort the rest of the way. Mabel had already recovered from their hectic midnight drive and was skipping alongside her brother as the two followed Bill around.

Bill ran up to a vending machine and started pressing a series of buttons on it. The twins glanced at each other before walking up beside him.

"Bill, what are you doing?" Mabel asked.

"It's like the one at your shack! I bet there's something interesting in the basement," he replied cheerily. The twins glanced at each other again.

"Uh, Bill. It's just a normal vending machine. The one in front of the Shack is the same, and there's nothing behind that one," Dipper said.

"Yes, but that one just has that poison drink you're obsessed with," Bill said while continuing to push buttons. Mabel elbowed Dipper, who rolled his eyes and gave her a few dollars. She then went up to the machine and managed to get Bill to stop pushing buttons long enough for her to buy a snack.

"Here," she said and offered the boy a pack of starbursts. Bill stared at the packaging for a few moments before carefully opening it. He furrowed his eyebrows as he pulled out a small yellow square.

"These aren't shaped like stars," Bill muttered. "They're squares. That's a stupid shape. They could at least be triangles. And why are they wrapped a second time? That's even more stupid." Bill lifted the candy up to get a better look at it after unwrapping it. Mabel shrugged and took a piece for herself.

"Well, whatever they're shaped like, they're still pretty tasty," she said before popping the candy into her mouth.

A couple of hours later, Bill found himself lying on a hard surface inside what the doctors said was a 'large camera'. Bill rolled his eyes; he knew what a camera looked like, and you couldn't take a picture while inside of one.

"Okay, we're going to start soon. Try to stay still and we'll have you out of here as soon as possible," said a voice through the machine.

"Alrighty," Bill replied.

After a few moments, Bill heard the sound of the machine begin to turn on; the sound of the magnet picking up speed and spinning around him filled him with an odd sense of anticipation. After a few minutes, he felt as though his insides were getting mixed up. Something felt off.

"Doing alright so far?" the voice asked.

"Y-yeah," he replied. Human bodies sure had strange reactions to things.

"Alright, we'll start the first set of pictures soon."

Bill was about to respond when a series of loud pulses rang through his ears. The machine seemed to be moving faster, and Bill found himself feeling as though he was floating while also being forced into the table. He tried to control his breathing after remembering what had happened while he was in the forest, but it felt as though the spinning was somehow forcing the air out of his body. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to focus on something else, but for once his mind seemed empty and unable to focus on any thoughts. After a shallow breath, he gripped the device the technologist had given him, fingers slowly moving to press the panic button-

"Alright, we're all set," came the familiar voice. Bill's eyes snapped open as the machine hummed to a stop.

The rest of the night was a blur, aside from the pole he managed to walk in to, and Bill wasn't even sure if he was fully awake for most of the ride back.

By the time they finally made it back to the Shack, the sun was slowly making it's way into the sky. The Pines all headed to their rooms after a few wishes good night and grunts were tossed around. By the time Bill made it to bed, he realised that only his body was tired while his mind was spinning.

The boy sat on the bed provided for him and huffed. He idly traced his arms where he still felt a slight tingle under his skin after coming back through the barrier. Once that got boring, he moved to sit on the windowsill. At first he was confused why the window looked different from what he remembered, but then he realized that the window had been replaced after he took a swan dive out.

Bill started out quietly at the forest beyond. The morning seemed peaceful as animals switched their cycles. It was strange; this was one of the few views of the forest he never thought he'd see. Once the sun had made it up in the sky, Bill found himself bored again and quietly made his way down the stairs to avoid being yelled at. Humans and their stupid rituals. He had enough of being told what to do to last him another lifetime.

Once on the ground floor, Bill adjusted the sweater he had been wearing before carefully padding through the rooms. He opened various doors, usually forgetting to close them unless he had to go back through that hall. Once he made it to the gift shop, Bill entertained himself by messing with various knick knacks and souvenirs. Bill was playing with a bobble-head Stan figure when a knock caught his attention. He looked over and saw Mabel standing in the doorway of the 'employees only' door.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping, Shooting Star?" Bill asked. The last thing he wanted was to get lectured about waking the others. Mabel just shrugged.

"I slept in the car," she said. "Besides, it's already the afternoon. Won't be long before Dipper gets up." Bill went back to fiddling with the bobble head. "Anyways, I started a project, but Dipper won't help me and it'll take a really long time on my own. Want to help?"

"Why would you want my help?" Bill quirked an eyebrow at her.

"You like stars, right?" Bill almost knocked the figure over but managed to catch it before it hit the ground. Mabel grinned. "You picked out a star sweater, remember? Aaaanywho, I'm working on making a bunch of origami things for a party! The stars are pretty easy, but the paper for them is small, so it's kind of hard for me." Bill huffed.

"What if I don't want to help?"

"Aren't you supposed to be buttering up to us or something?" Mabel twirled one of her long locks between two fingers. Bill huffed again in frustration before walking to her.

"Fine, but I won't like it," he grumbled.

"You don't know that~!" she sang. Mabel then grabbed Bill before he could complain more and dragged him to the living room.

Soon, the floor was covered in various colors of papers. Bill sat down with his arms crossed and cheeks puffed out. Mabel tried (and failed) to hold back a snort at the former demon's childish demeanor, which only made Bill look more annoyed. Mabel sat across from him with a big smile on her face, ignoring the glare she was receiving.

"Okay! So we take one of these papers," Mabel picked up a stip of purple paper, "and we begin with tying a knot liiiike this!" Bill picked up a strip and raised an eyebrow.

"Like… a pentagon?" He asked. Mabel nodded and grinned.

"Next, you fold over the little end. Then, you continue folding the rest of the strip around so that you keep the pentagon shape." While Mabel worked, Bill watched her closely while trying to figure out his own little project. It took a few tries, but with Mabel's help, Bill managed to get a sturdy pentagon made. He stared at the shape for a few moments, and almost missed the last bit of instructions Mabel gave him. Once the star had been made, Bill's eyes instantly lit up, and his freckles turned orange instantly.

"WOAH! It's 3-D now!" Bill practically bounced in place while showing off the messy star to Mabel. The girl was caught off guard when she noticed the difference in Bill's face and excitement, but the boy was already busy trying to make more stars before she was able to say something. "You know, I knew someone who looked like this!" Bill paused for a moment before continuing. "She was actually a lot like you, Shooting Star." Mabel blinked.

"Really? Where is she? Maybe we could invite her to make stars with us," Mabel said. Bill went quiet again, and Mabel watched as the spots on his face changed from orange to dark purple. She was quickly finding the changing colors to be rather entertaining. Bill suddenly perked again and grinned at Mabel, freckles going back to the golden color they were earlier.

"I killed her," he replied cheerily. Mabel just sat in shock as Bill got up to bother Dipper as he came down the stairs.

* * *

Check out colors-of-summer-doodles for some awesome fanart!


	6. Memories are Enemies

"Listen bro-bro, I don't think it's a good idea," Mabel said. Dipper sighed as he mixed in some milk with his coffee. The twins were in the kitchen while Bill had been convinced to continue making stars.

"Well, we should get him some new clothes at some point. He can't just wear your sweater all summer," Dipper replied.

"And why not?" Mabel huffed, but her expression soon softened. "Dipper, he admitted to me that he killed someone. What if he tries-"

"Mabel, he literally caused the apocalypse," Dipper cut in. "Besides, you heard Ford at the hospital; his powers are sealed and being monitored by some celestial being."

"How do we know he won't find a way to access them again?" Mabel shifted uneasily on her feet. Dipper quirked an eyebrow.

"You saw those markings when we crossed the barrier. I didn't get a chance to really look, but they seemed like some powerful seals." Dipper leaned on the kitchen counter and took a sip of coffee. "And Ford said he'll be able to contact his friend from that other dimension if something starts looking suspicious."

"I just… You know, he seems so innocent like that. I almost forget that he has no problem hurting people to get what he wants." Mabel bit her bottom lip. Dipper sighed and set his mug down before reaching out and hugging his twin.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful. You've still got that party to plan, remember?" Dipper pulled away from Mabel and smiled. "This one's going to be the best one yet!" Mabel returned the smile with a nod. Dipper could tell she was still worried, but she was doing her best to stay positive.

"Don't be going all sweet on me, Dipdot! I'm the Alpha Twin!" Dipper let out a laugh when Mabel playfully punched his shoulder.

"Yeah, sure," Dipper grinned and finished his coffee before stretching. "Want me to get anything for you while we're out?"

"I'll get a list together real quick," Mabel said as she spun on her heel and ran out of the kitchen. Dipper groaned inwardly, already envisioning the laundry list of items he'd probably be coming back with.

Dipper then headed out to the living room, letting out a small yelp when something sharp hit his face right under his nose. Bill started laughing, and Dipper blinked when he noticed the small pile of stars in front of the blond.

"Look! Shooting stars!" Bill picked up another one of the stars and flicked it at Dipper, this time getting it stuck in his hair. Bill laughed again as Dipper pulled it out with a sigh.

"Bill, we're heading into town," Dipper said. Bill tilted his head to the side. "You should probably get some other clothes to wear besides that sweater and some cheap shorts and flipflops."

"Ooooh," Bill slowly stood up, walking carefully over his pile of stars to get to Dipper. "Is Shooting Star coming too?"

"Nope, just us." he replied. Bill looked disappointed, and Dipper raised an eyebrow questioningly. "What?"

"You're boring," Bill replied flatly. Dipper groaned.

"Yeah, and you're insane. Either way, we're going to be stuck with each other for the afternoon, so let's not make it any harder than it has to be." This time it was Bill's turn to groan. Dipper watched as Bill went to search for the sandals he had thrown off somewhere. Mabel soon returned with her list of items and waved the two off as they headed to town.

As the two crossed over the bridge leading out of the forest, Dipper looked over the list Mabel had given him. He took out a pen, making little marks to organize which items to get where. A small splash nearby caught his attention, and Dipper looked up to see Bill throwing rocks into the water ahead of him. Dipper sighed and put the list away.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"You're taking too long, so I'm finding ways to entertain myself," Bill replied. He then spun around and picked up a stick, examined it, and spun back to Dipper with the stick raised like a sword. "Fight me!"

"Bill," Dipper moved the stick away from his face and sighed. "You're not a kid. We both know what you're capable of, so why are you acting like one?" Bill crossed his arms.

"Just because I can destroy your world, it doesn't mean-"

"Could," Dipper cut in.

"What?"

"You could have destroyed it. You can't do much of anything now," Dipper said before walking past him. "Besides, we defeated you. Now you're stuck trying to fix your mistakes or something, right?"

Bill watched Dipper before crossing his arms and following after him. "Well, for your information, I have destroyed worlds before-entire DIMENSIONS even!" he said happily. Dipper rolled his eyes. "What?" Bill asked defensively.

"I don't know, defeating you seemed fairly easy," Dipper said a bit quieter. They had entered the town now and were passing by where the Tent of Telepathy used to be. Bill didn't seem to take the hint to quiet down, however.

"Sure, but that was different. I was just playing around, and it wouldn't even have been me who would have ultimately destroy this universe. When I did it, I had so much power that not a single circle could stand up to me!" Bill laughed. Dipper blinked and stopped walking.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Bill stopped and turned to him, looking eager to explain.

"Oh, well, you see, circles were at the top-"

"No, I mean, there's more shapes?"

"Yeah? Well, were," Bill said and crossed his arms. "What did you think, Pine Tree? I was the only creature like me in existence?" Dipper looked a bit embarrassed and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Well, I don't know… I guess you had your henchmen during Weirdmageddon and all," he replied sheepishly. Bill snorted.

"Those two were from other dimensions," he stated simply. Dipper was about to ask another question, but Bill suddenly seemed distracted as his markings began to glow faintly under the harsh light. The boy turned and began walking, Dipper taking a moment before catching up.

"What's going on?" Dipper asked. Bill stayed quiet as he continued to walk, so Dipper followed along silently as they made their way across town to the mall.

By the time they made it to the mall, Bill was practically bouncing from store to store. Dipper had to convince him that no, kids do not normally wear a top hat and bow tie for fun. Dipper had turned away for a moment to look at a pair of hiking boots, only to find Bill had somehow managed to find a pair of tap shoes. After a fairly heated debate and colorful freckle changes, Bill finally put the shoes away and settled on something else.

After paying for Bill's clothes, Dipper realized Bill had wandered off while he was waiting for the bags. As he went to search in between the rows of shirts, a hand came out from one of the racks to catch Dipper's vest as he passed. Dipper blinked and looked down to see a very paranoid looking Bill.

"What are you even doing in there?" Dipper asked.

"Listen, Pine Tree, I'm under attack," he said. Dipper blinked and laughed.

"You really are a kid! Under attack? By what?"

"This isn't a game!" Bill snapped. Dipper did his best to contain his laughter. "Something's been following me for a while now. I think it might be the Invisible Wizard but something keeps-OW!" Bill's head bobbed as if it had been hit, and he rubbed a spot on his head. "See?!" Dipper just laughed again.

"Sure, whatever. We'll hurry with the rest of the things we need and head back to the Shack, okay?" Dipper patted Bill's head, and the boy looked annoyed but nodded anyways. Bill had seen the signs of ghosts before, and he doubted something had already attached themselves to Bill.

Once they had finally left the mall with some clothes for Bill, bags of things at Mabel's request, and some snacks Bill convinced Dipper to get for him to try, Dipper was more than ready to go home. Some time during the trip between stores, Bill's paranoia seemed to disappear, along with his markings. Dipper had tried to catch a glimpse of what some of them looked like, but it was hard to do it without Bill noticing. The sun was starting to set over the cliffs as they walked back through the town, and the silence was making Dipper uncomfortable.

"Sooo," Dipper adjusted the bags in his arms. "What was your family like?"

"I don't know," Bill said in an almost bored way.

"What do you mean you 'don't know'? You don't remember?" Dipper ask. He stopped walking when Bill turned and gave him a dark look.

"I destroyed that dimension hundreds of thousands of years ago, kid. I'd rather not try to dig through those useless memories," he said dryly. Dipper stared at Bill, looking for any sign of his normal behavior, and was rewarded with a dark expression that sent shivers down Dipper's spine. Dipper took that as his cue to stop asking questions, and the rest of the walk back was silent between the two.

Once back in the Shack, Bill seemed to take a complete one-eighty. He was practically bouncing around Mabel and helping with organizing the stuff they had picked out for the party. Dipper helped, mainly so Mabel wouldn't be left alone with Bill. Once everything had been organized, Dipper managed to convince Bill to save his snacks for the next day while Mabel offered to make tea. After they finished, the trio quietly made their way upstairs, careful not to wake Stan. The twins said goodnight before heading to their own rooms, and Bill stood in the middle of his makeshift room. He didn't want to sleep, but moving around all day was making it harder to keep going. He sighed, flopping into the creaking bed and wincing slightly when pain shot through his back. It was gone almost as soon as it came, and Bill stared out the window until sleep finally took over.

 _"So, how long am I going to be out this time?" Bill asked, admittedly a bit too eager considering where he was headed._

 _The two council members guiding him kept quiet. Bill huffed and followed along quietly, thinking back to the information he had gathered. Circles were always so stuck up and greedy with their information, especially when it came to Bill. His teacher had managed to work his way up into their ranks and was in charge of sorting and maintaining all the information they gathered. Bill could say his teacher wanted him to pick up something, and the circles would still send the triangle nasty looks. Not that it was much easier for his teacher, but the square didn't pay them any mind._

 _Bill stumbled to the center of the group that had gathered in front of the barrier. The two circles that had guided him there took their places among the rest of the crowd. As Bill glanced around, he noticed the other shapes were all members of the council; the shapes at the top of their society, the ones known for their magical capabilities. Bill saw his teacher near the opposite side of the Barrier and felt a small sense of pride in knowing the square was among so many great circles. Next to his teacher, however, was also a familiar circle, and Bill had to hold back the habit of a disgusted look. Bill then realized just how many members had gathered and immediately scanned his mind for what could have caused this. Normally his sentences would involve four or five members, but he was currently surrounded by more members than he had ever seen together at one time._

 _Just as he began to panic, he felt chains pull his body down to the rocky ground to keep him from trying to get away. The slight pull of gravity seemed to double down on him. Bill barely had enough time to recollect himself before the rituals began. The members all began casting their own spells; different binding seals that would prevent him from crossing back over the barrier or allowing his body to be used as a vessel. Each seal felt as though it was being carved painfully slow into his body. Bill tried to raise his head, the force on his body seemed to only grow stronger. He managed to glance to his teacher. His vision was too blurred and out of focus to make out more than dull colors. He tried pleading for help. The words wouldn't come. Everything suddenly made sense._

 _Then he laughed._

* * *

And with that, we're all caught up to ao3!

-evil scheming noises-


	7. Glitter and Codes

A/N: Oh boy, thank you all for the kind reviews! I tried making the paragraphs a bit smaller by request, but some of them may seem a bit funky because of it. My beta reader is sick so I really only asked them for help regarding things about timeline. Also, I plan on uploading another chapter soon as an apology for my lateness! My internet has been acting up a lot as well... Also, happy 1st anniversary of the finale, and happy discount chocolate day, for those of you that this still applies to, at least.

* * *

Dipper awoke to the sound of a scream. He groaned and rolled over in bed, stuffing his face in his pillow. After a few moments, realization set in that the scream had belonged to his twin.

Throwing the blankets off, Dipper practically flew out of his room and down the stairs. He took the steps three at a time, his heel missing a few steps towards the end and causing him to slide down the remaining few. He groaned and forced himself, running to the kitchen when he heard another shriek from his sister followed by the demons laughter.

"MABEL-" Dipper's face was then met with an explosion of glitter just as he made it to the doorway. He stood still for a moment before slowly shaking the glitter off like a wet dog. He rubbed the glitter out of his eyes and blinked when he saw Mabel and Bill covered in glitter and goo. Judging by their guilty looks and Bill's stance, Dipper had walked in on some unholy food fight.

"Good morning, Pine Tree!" Bill suddenly said. Dipper ga **v** e Mabel a puzzled look, and the girl burst into a fit of giggles.

"You got a little...som'thin'," Mabel gestured to her face while trying to suppress her giggles. D **i** pper groaned.

"What are you guys doing? The kitchen is a mess!" Dipper shook more glitter out of his hair and sneezed when some ma **n** aged to get up his nose. This time both Mabel and Bill started laughing. Dipper lifted his head and put up his index finger, adding, "Don't," before either could comment about his sneeze.

"We're making food for your party!" Bill skipped over to the counter and picked up an egg. He then turne **d** to Dipper and grinned. "Duck!"  
Dipper managed to duck just as the egg whizzed over his head, but the sound of it breaking a little too close and the feeling of dust falling around him afraid to look back. Mabel's eyes had gone wide, and **i** t was Bill's turn to hold back his laughter. Dipper slowly looked over his shoulder to see Stanford standing in a cloud of glitter.

"Well," Ford took off his glasses and blew the glitter off of them before **c** oughing and putting his glasses back on. "I hope you children know we cannot have a party here with the kitchen being a mess." Mabel groaned dramatically and Bill pouted when he realized that meant the end of their fun morning. "Dipper," Ford said before the teen could voice his protests. "Meet me downstairs. Glitter free." He then turned and headed down the h **a** ll.

"Oooooo," Mabel said with a grinned. "You're _toas_ _ **t**_." Dipper rolled his eyes.

"Mabel, please," he said.

"What, am I _egging_ you on?"

"Mabel-"

"Don't get your panties _scrambled_ , bro-bro." The girl broke into a fit of giggles when Dipper shot her a look. "You're just _jelly_ you're not as funny as me!"

"How did you guys even make this big of a mess?" Dipper asked as he stood back to his full height. He didn't want to hear more bad breakfast puns. Mabel pointed dramatically at Bill, who was preoccupied with attempting to fit one of the eggs in his mouth without breaking it. He stopped with the egg mostly in his mouth when he noticed Mabel pointing.

"He started it! He assaulted me with milk. How _d-dair-ry!_ " Mabel was barely able to finish her sentence before she burst into laughter again. Bill stared at her with a blank look before seeming to get the joke and tried, but failed, to hold back laughter. The egg broke and covered him in glitter. He must have breathed some in, because when he coughed there were puffs of glitter. Mabel looked at Bill and started laughing harder, now clutching her stomach with one hand and using the other to support herself on the counter.

Dipper sighed and rubbed his face, leaving the two so he go take a shower. He stood in the bathroom, debating if it was even worth it, but the amount of glitter on his scalp was too uncomfortable. Once he spent a good fifteen minutes of just scrubbing, he made his way to his great uncle's space.

Once down in the basement, he saw Ford gathering a few different books on a table. Dipper walked over and picked one up. " _'Decoding Pictish Ruins'_? Did you find something when you were out with Gruncle Stan?"

"Hmm, not quite," Ford set down another small stack of books on the table. "I found something here in Gravity Falls, actually." He picked a small black book and opened it, laying it out on the table.

"It seems to have a few different writing systems in it," Ford paused and drummed his fingers on the table top. "I've seen two of these before, but one is a complete mystery to me." Dipper leaned over the table to take a look.

"The one on the bottom...aren't those illuminati ciphers?" Dipper asked. Ford nodded. "Isn't that a bit cheesy?" Dipper grinned when he saw his uncle crack a smile.

"Though I'm not sure what the star is supposed to represent. It might be some kind of signature."

"Why don't you just ask Bill? He'll probably know these," Dipper said. He glanced up from the book when Ford didn't answer. "What?"

"You see, this one," he tapped on the single line of characters written on the edge of the page, "reminds me of the text Bill would write in my journal. Of course, we don't have those anymore." Dipper nodded slightly. They had burned all the Bill imagery and thrown the journals into the bottomless pit. "And that's not all. Look here," Ford's finger moved to a small image in the middle of a line of text.

"Is that Bill?" Dipper asked, squinting at the tiny drawing.

"It looks like it, yes." Ford sighed and leaned back. "Bill's code is scattered around in this book, save for one page where he wrote quite a bit. The illuminati one starts here, and then continues for a while before stopping completely. This mystery one is the most consistent, though there's a lot less on the pages where the other is written more." Ford crossed his arms and muttered, "Maybe it was some type of research journal?"

"So it definitely seems like more than one person writing?" Dipper stood up straight and looked at the books his uncle had gathered again. "Maybe I can stop by the library and see if I can find something to match?"

"Take Bill with you," Ford said with a nod. "He might be a bit helpful." Dipper nodded and took a picture of the page before heading back upstairs. "Oh, and Dipper." The teen stopped when Ford called to him.

"Don't tell Bill about this book."

Getting to the library took longer than Dipper expected. Bill complained about having to leave his sweater at the shack, but Mabel insisted it needed emergency cleaning. Between a number of trips back to the bathroom to get cleaned up and various other complaints, Dipper had been ready just to leave Bill behind. When Dipper mentioned going to the library, Bill's behavior shifted and the two were out in less than half an hour.

By the time Dipper and Bill had made it to the library, it was already close to three in the afternoon. It didn't take long for Bill to wander off. Dipper watched him from a distance, surprised with how well behaved he was. Once he felt Bill wouldn't cause trouble, Dipper made his way to the history section.

He picked out a few books on old runes and sat at a table. He set his phone on the table next to the books as he flipped through, checking back and forth for similarities. There were a few that had a couple of characters that matched or looked close, but he couldn't find any that had all or most of the same characters. Dipper took out a small notebook and jotted down the names and a rough copy of the alphabets that looked similar.  
When Dipper had made it through the first few books, Bill made his way over to the table and sat down across from the teen. He picked up a book and looked it over.

"What's this for?" Bill asked.

"Oh, uh, I'm just looking at some old languages," Dipper replied. He quietly put his phone away while Bill was distracted with the book. "It's amazing how many different kinds there are."

"It got boring using the same ones all the time. Most of the records don't do these justice," Bill mused.

"What do you mean?"

"The languages back then were just as complex as the ones today, if not more," Bill said with an almost bored tone. He scanned the page he was on before shutting it loudly. "Back when languages were first being created here, the only things that were similar between them were a few of the symbols and sounds."

"You talk like you saw them all being made," Dipper said. Bill grinned at his disbelief. "That's crazy. You couldn't be there for all of them."

"They were all created by the same being, so yes, I could," Bill said. He leaned back in his chair after setting the book down. "How humans changed them afterwards was up to them, but the original scripts were made by the same creature."

Dipper stared at Bill for a few moments. "Were you the one…?" Bill blinked and laughed.

"Kid, I only made some of the symbols. There's more to languages than that."

"Oh," Dipper crossed his arms and looked up as he thought. "So, do you know where this grand creator is?" Bill shook his head.

"I've been trapped here for centuries, not to mention…" Dipper looked at Bill when he trailed off. He seemed distracted, and his freckles had changed to a mix of dark red and dark purple. Dipper remembered Mabel going off one day about colors and feelings, and made a mental note to get some books on color theory.

"Anyways, the languages now are all too similar," Bill said. "It would be an insult to say they were made by the same one."

An announcement was made that the library would be closing soon, so Dipper gathered up his books and checked out the ones that seemed the most useful. The way back was fairly quiet, though Dipper didn't dare ask any questions after the last incident.

Once they made it back to the Shack, Bill went off to the living room. Dipper heard the TV turn on as he made his way to the gift shop. He waved to Stan before heading down to Ford once the coast was clear. Once down, he set the books down on the table, careful to not disturb the papers that his uncle had scattered around. Ford grunted an acknowledgment.

"So, find anything interesting yet?" Dipper asked.

"It's fascinating," he said. "Most of it is records of different worlds and it's inhabitants." Ford leaned back and rubbed his chin. "There's quite a bit written about Bill, as well as someone named Gad." Dipper blinked.

"Have you ever heard of them before?" Dipper asked. Ford shook his head.

"No, never. Not even in the Nightmare Realm." Ford sighed. "What's more, the author seems to comment on the other text on the same page."

"So they understood the other language, but they still used different symbols?" Dipper asked. "Why?" Ford shrugged.

"I don't know. Perhaps to keep information from getting out as easily? Though, that's not the most concerning part," Ford's tone lowered as he went on. "Bill mentioned to me before about destroying his dimension, but with the way this author writes about it, Bill was really shaken up about it." Dipper's eye's went wide.

"Wait, he actually destroyed his entire dimension?!" Dipper had to sit on floor as he thought this over. Not only were they housing a demon who tried to destroy their world, but he had successfully destroyed his own dimension, and Ford knew this!

"Dipper, he doesn't have access to his magic. He's even less powerful than when I first summoned him," Ford said as he stood. "In fact, he's powerless."

Dipper shook his head slightly, though the movement made him dizzy. Swallowing felt foreign and made his ears ring. Pressure on his back made him jump, but he relaxed when he realized it was just Ford.

"Calm down, Dipper. He can't hurt us," Ford said gently.

"Y-yeah...right," Dipper closed his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing. The last thing he wanted was to break down in front of his uncle. After a few moments, Ford stood up again.

"The last entry in this code is what confuses me the most," Ford said. Dipper looked up at him with a puzzled look.

"'It's a nice day for a picnic'."

* * *

A/N: picture to go with the code(remove space): sta. sh/08b983slj2t


	8. Demons

Bill sat quietly on the desk, watching the stars move painfully slow from behind the safety of the glass. The window that had originally been there had been changed out in a fit of paranoia the Pines family had after his defeat. Bill had found this information hilarious at the time, but it made some sense.

The sound of sheets moving caught Bill's attention, and he looked over to see Dipper stretching in bed. The teen was about to get up, but stopped when he noticed a silhouette on his desk. Dipper rubbed his eyes, squinted at Bill, then yawned.

"Bill? What are you doing in here?" Dipper asked, fighting the urge to yawn again. Bill shrugged and looked back out the window.

"I can't watch the stars from my window," was the soft reply. About a million questions rose in Dipper's mind, but the tone of Bill's voice caught him completely off guard. Any fear that had begun to rise also seemed to disappear.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Dipper asked. The room stayed silent until Dipper shifted and sat on the edge on his bed. Something about the demon's different behavior was extremely off-putting. "Did you...have a nightmare?"

Bill snorted. He was the king of nightmares. Something like that wouldn't bother him so easily. He knew they were just fabrications of the mind; created so the mind would be able to understand emotions and prepare for possible situations. They could be altered fairly easily. Memories, on the other hand…

"I don't dream, Pine Tree," Bill finally said. Something in his tone made Dipper fidget a little. Bill turned to face him, and Dipper blinked. Bill's eyes seemed to have a faint blue glow, though it was hard to tell if it was just from the moonlight. His freckles, on the other hand, gave off a yellow glow and cast dim shadows over the blond's face. Dipper caught himself staring and quickly got out of bed.

"R-right, uh… So, when was the last time you slept?" Dipper shuffled around in the dark, feeling for his pants and pulling them on.

"Four nights ago," Bill replied. He watched Dipper stumble around a bit before stopping and giving the smaller a horrified look.

"Four nights ago?" Dipper echoed. "Bill, you're in a human body. You can't-"

"Oh, quiet kid. I know what your brains do." Bill waved him off before looking back outside. Dipper groaned and rubbed his face.

"Why won't you sleep? You might pass out one of these days, or start getting hallucinations," Dipper paused and thought back to Bill's paranoia at the mall. "Scratch that, you probably already are." Bill made a point to ignore Dipper, which only confused the teen more. Sure, this version of Bill was more pleasant to deal with, but the total change in personality was too much. Finally, Dipper sighed.

"Okay, fine," he said. "If the stars make you happy, whatever. I'll be working at my desk, so, uh… I guess you can sleep in here if you get tired or something." When Bill still didn't respond, Dipper rolled his eyes and moved to his desk, turned on his laptop, and began his research.

When morning came around, Dipper yawned and rubbed his eyes. He still couldn't find much on the strange symbols in the book, and he was beginning to wonder if there was even anything like it on Earth. Stanford had mentioned that the author had been to different worlds…

Dipper turned back to the window and blinked when he realized Bill was nowhere in sight. His window was still intact, so that was a plus. He couldn't remember Bill leaving his room, though, and a wave of uneasiness washed over him.

Dipper soon made his way downstairs, somewhat relieved that the kitchen was quieter this morning. He walked in and saw Mabel starting pancakes while Bill sat at the table with a mug of cocoa. Bill had bags under his eyes, which looked somewhat odd with the young body.

"Bill, you look terrible today," Dipper said as he sat at the table.

"Oh, thanks, Pine Tree," Bill replied casually. "Your face is just as dreadful to look at as usual."

 _"Boys,"_ Mabel said sternly, cutting Dipper off from responding. Bill took a sip of his cocoa with an innocent look on his face. "You really should get some sleep, though." Mabel said after a few moments, and Dipper nodded in agreement. Bill made a face of disgust in response.

"Bill." The trio blinked and turned to see Ford in the doorway of the kitchen. The sudden attention seemed to catch Ford off-guard for a moment, but he quickly recovered and cleared his throat. "I, uh, need your help with something."

"Oh, boy, a reason to not listen to Pine Tree and Shooting Star. Count me in." Bill set his cup down before getting up and following Ford. The twins shared a look before Dipper sighed and got up.

"Right, they probably shouldn't be left alone," Dipper said. After getting a pancake from Mabel, he headed to the basement.

By the time Dipper had finally made it to the right floor, the air already thick with tension. Dipper took a deep and made his way over to his uncle and Bill, but stopped in his tracks when he noticed Bill practically trembling with rage. Bill's back was towards him, and Ford didn't seem to notice Dipper yet.

 _"I said, where did you FIND THAT?!"_ Bill shouted at the older man. Dipper mentally kicked himself for not coming sooner.

"Just tell me what's written in it. You wrote in it, too," Ford said. "I need to know if-"

 _"No, you don't,"_ Bill growled. "I never snooped in your journals, I tried to keep them out of the hands of those brats," Bill's hands flew up in the air wildly. "What is with you humans and expecting everything belongs to you?!"

Bill then turned around but stopped when he saw Dipper. His eyes were filled with malevolence, and his freckles were such a dark red that Dipper almost thought they had disappeared. When Bill glanced back between Ford and Dipper, the teen was filled with dreaded realization. The demon was currently the equivalent of a cornered animal, and Dipper was in the way of his exit.

"Bill." The blond's attention was brought back to the older man. "Let's make a deal," Ford said, glancing at Dipper for just a moment. Bill growled in an inhuman way. Dipper's eyes went wide, but he couldn't find his voice.

 _"What?"_ Bill spat.

"A deal. If you don't want me to read this so badly," Ford held up the small black book, "then show me instead." Bill relaxed only slightly and his expressed changed to confusion. Ford seemed to gain a bit of confidence with Bill's reaction. "I have a machine that can read your memories-"

"Fine," Bill said in a low tone. "Give that to me, though," Bill point to the book in Ford's hand, and the older man looked it quietly for a few moments. Bill then held his hand out.

"After I determine there isn't anything that could harm my family in it," Ford finally said. "I'll know if you're lying, too. I've decoded some of the messages."

Bill's jaw clenched as Ford reached out and shook his hand. Ford winced slightly when Bill let go, and Dipper noticed his hand was slightly red from Bill's grip. When they turned to the elevator, Dipper quickly moved to the wall to give them space. He followed them into the elevator, though, hoping to somehow keep another fight from erupting.

Ford worked quickly to hook Bill up and get his machine going. The summer after Weirdmageddon, Ford and Dipper had worked on restoring it along with adding a few functions. Dipper had suggested a way to counter the memory gun in case if things got out of hand again, though he was also worried about his Gruncles losing their memory due to age. It had also helped settle a few arguments.

Bill sat backwards on the chair with his arms crossed on top of the backrest, but Dipper was still wary since the color of his freckles hadn't changed at all. Ford either didn't seem to notice or didn't care. When the machine came to life, the screen was covered in lines of gibberish. Dipper realized after a few moments that it must've been some type of code.

Once Ford seemed satisfied with his setup, he turned to Bill. "Ready?" Bill held out his hand, and Ford raised an eyebrow in question. Bill rolled his eyes.

"I've been alive for thousands of years, Six Fingers," Bill said flatly. "Do you really expect me to be able to pinpoint memories that easily?" Ford hesitated before handing the book over to him. Bill stared at the book in his hands for a few minutes, and the words on the screen behind him changed. Ford was about to say something when Bill finally flipped the book open.

The screens soon flipped, and both Dipper and Ford let out a small gasp. The world they saw was in monochrome, and seemed almost void of life. There were a few ruins of buildings, but what caught their attention was the number of doors that seemed suspended in the air.

"What is that place?" Ford asked.

"My home dimension," Bill replied.

"Wait," Ford held a hand up and shook his head. "You told me your dimension was the second-"

"My dimension was corrupt," Bill said. "The lines between dimensions had broke down."

The image on the screen changed. A man appeared, floating at a bit of a distance from the screen in what seemed like a library. The person was the only thing colored in the image, though he was only a shade of brown. At the center of his chest, there was a large red square.

 _"We've found that the dimensions directly surrounding ours have collapsed,"_ Bill spoke over the man on the screen, translating. A comment came from off-screen, though it almost hurt to try to understand what had been said. The man sighed and turned a darker shade of brown. _"Essentially, we're trapped in this corrupted place."_

The image suddenly turned black, and Ford quickly turned to Bill. "Who was that?" he demanded. Bill shrugged and rested his chin on the back on the chair.

"Just a dumb square," Bill said offhandedly. Ford scoffed. Bill twitched and looked around before continuing. "My species had originally been from the second dimension. The fourth broke down, and the second and third bled into each other. Imagine knowing your body was moving in ways your mind couldn't comprehend, even from the start of your existence."

"The laws of this dimension were all over the place," Bill continued. Dipper let out a quiet gasp, and Ford glanced at his nephew before turning to the screen. Faint glowing shapes had begun appearing. The longer one looked, the more they would notice. The shapes had a sinister feel to them, and seemed to be shifting and changing.

After a few moments, Dipper cleared his throat before speaking up. "That actually sounds a lot like something you'd like." Both Bill and Ford turned to him, and Dipper squirmed a little under their gaze. "Why destroy it?"

"Kid, most of the inhabitants were more terrifying than your worst nightmares," Bill said as he sat up straight. "Parents treated their children in inhumane ways, the rich would taunt the poor with access to help but refuse service," Bill flipped a few pages ahead in the book. "Our equivalent to 'jail' was to be sent off to the-"

A rainbow of color appeared on the screen. The intensity of the colors along with the way they seemed to mix together almost made the colors look alive, even on the screen. The image began changing at a rapid pace, creating a strobe light effect in the room.

Dipper glanced at Bill and blinked when he noticed the color had drained from his face. Ford on the other hand grew impatient and turned to Bill. He placed a hand on Bill's shoulder, and the demon quickly jerked away. The images on the screen began flipping through faster, and Bill quickly became overwhelmed with the flood of memories.

Bill suddenly pulled off the helmet and threw it at Ford when he tried coming closer. The room darkened, and Bill was out of the Shack before either Ford or Dipper could fully process what happened.

Dipper stretched back over his chair, satisfied with the amount of research he had managed before the sun came up. He closed his journal and gently traced the pine tree emblem on the front. Since they hadn't come back to Gravity Falls in a while, there wasn't much in it, though that hadn't stopped Dipper from finding things to add while in California. Dipper sighed and set the journal off to the side before rubbing his eyes and turning off the desk lamp.

He looked to the window behind him and frowned. It was raining heavily, and the low rumble of thunder in the distance could be heard easily through the old wood. It had been almost a week since Bill had disappeared. Dipper was debating if it was worth going through this weather and attempting to bring him back, but the sound of a window shutting cut through his thoughts.

Dipper quietly got up from his desk and slowly opened his door just in time to hear a soft thud, along with the bouncy shrills from the bed springs just outside of his room. Dipper stayed in the doorway for a few moments before quietly making his way to the bed. In the dark, he could just barely make out the small frame that had slowly become familiar over the past week. Though, the more he looked, the more something seemed...off.

There was a flash of lightning, and Dipper gasped when he saw a large, black snake wrapped around the sleeping blond. He took a few steps back and covered his mouth while doing his best not to panic. The snake was much bigger than anything he had seen or heard of in Oregon, but it was no doubt some sort of constrictor. Dipper groaned under his breath. Leave it to Bill to find some monstrous snake and bring it back with him.

Dipper cautiously took a few small steps closer to the bed, doing his best not to disturb the predator. He knelt down and placed a hand on the bed and blindly searched for Bill's foot. When his hand found something that didn't feel like blanket, he shook it, hopeful it was enough to wake the other up, but not to upset the herp. "Bill," he whispered. Nothing. _"Bill-"_

There was movement, and Dipper's breath caught as something scaly and heavy moved over his hand. Dipper jerked his hand back without thinking and stumbled back from the bed. There was another flash of lightning, this time temporarily blinding Dipper since he was directly in front of the window. Blinking the spots out of his eyes, he waited for his eyes to adjust back to the dark before making any attempt to move. His eyes went wide when he noticed a figure standing over him in front of the window; a figure much too tall to be Bill. Dipper bit his bottom lip to keep from making any noise and drew a sharp breath when the figure looked down at him with a single, glowing, yellow eye.


End file.
